Can People Really Change?
by Raven A. Star
Summary: Blackfire has served her time in prison and goes to the Tower to seek refuge from the storm. There, she and Raven have a talk about change. ONE-SHOT [COMPLETED]


**Can People Really Change?  
**_**Author's Note  
****Just a really random ONE-SHOT I had in mind that drove me nuts. Oo' Here's a little fic, enjoy. The characters may seem a little OOC, but hey, that's what part of the story is about. Change. Read and review if you wish. Mostly contains Raven and Blackfire talking, a couple scenes with Robin.**_

**-Raven A. Star  
  
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"Please collect Prisoner #1930 is cell 187 section E."

A bell went off signaling the opening of a prison door at the Jump City Prison. A prison guard walked in and held a night-stick in his hand. He tapped the palm of his hand with it as he looked at the darkened space on the bed where a criminal was lurking and staring at him with glowing purple eyes. "Come on, you served your time on both planets. You're free to go."   
  
The person's eyes narrowed. "What if I don't want to go?"   
  
The guard paused for a moment, but then broke into a fit of not laughter, but creepy cackles that made the prisoner almost want to rip the guy's face off. The prisoner narrowed their eyes dangerously and the purple deepened greatly. After the man stopped laughing, he took a deep breath and straightened up his misplaced hair look.   
  
"Ahem, don't be a fool. You're going. And if you don't we can always send you back to Centauri…"   
  
The person climbed out of the dark cranny to expose a teenage girl with long black hair and deep purple eyes. Her exposed tan skin reflected in the light. "I don't think so."   
  
The man grabbed her arms and hand cuffed her, and led her out of her cell. She was followed by several other guards, one of them carrying a box of items that supposedly belonged to her.   
  
They led her to the security fence by the exit and stopped right in front of it. They turned her around and took the cuffs off her hands and a buzz went off.   
  
The fence slid open to reveal a dusty road to freedom. The guard carrying the box walked up and handed her it and its contents. "Stay out of trouble this time."   
  
The girl took the box and stared emotionlessly at them, then turned around and walked down the road without saying another word. The buzz went off again and the fence closed separating her from the inside world she knew about for some time.   
  
She stopped in her walk and turned to look back at the prison. Oblivious to the fact that the sky had quickly overcast with black clouds, she just stood in the road until she felt something drip on her arm. Looking up she saw the black clouds begin to drown her in rain.   
  
Sighing, she turned and walked down the road where the rain was settling the dust quickly into a sticky type of mud.  
  
----- 

Robin sat at the kitchen table with a mug of coffee and his work and was busy flipping and filling out forms. He picked up the mug to take a swig of the warm beverage when the bell goes off for the front door. Grunting, he called out.

"Raven, can you get that? I'm a little busy."   
  
Slightly agitated, Raven obeyed and got up from her comfortable spot on the couch and placed the book she was reading on the cushion. She walked over to the door and pressed the speaker and viewer button. 

"Hello?"

A feminine voice was heard and a tan face appeared on the screen. "Hello, may I come in?"   
  
Raven froze. That voice and that face…why did it seem so familiar?   
  
"You do remember me right?"   
  
Raven bit her tongue. Turning, she looked over to the busy Robin. "I'm sorry Robin about having to interrupt you, but, we got a slight…problem…"   
  
Robin cursed under his breath and threw his pencil down onto the table forcefully. He walked over to the door and looked up at the screen and nearly fainted when he saw who it was.   
  
"Blackfire!"   
  
Her face appeared to be wet. "May I please come in? It is raining out here and I think that I would rather be better off staying in prison."   
  
Robin and Raven looked at each other nervously. Finally, Raven spoke for both of them. "Sure, just no funny business."   
  
Blackfire held up a small box. "This is all I got, and I'm too tired to use my powers." 

Raven hit the open switch and the door slid open as a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky above them. Blackfire jumped and rushed in. Raven quickly closed the door and watched as Blackfire tried to dry herself without making a huge mess on the floor.

"I'll be right back." Raven walked over to the linen closet and pulled out several blankets. She walked back and handed them to Blackfire. Blackfire took them gratefully and wrapped them around herself and sighed.   
  
Robin finally spoke. "Aren't you supposed to be in jail?"   
  
"I was released for serving my time on both planets."   
  
Raven crossed her arms with a passive expression. "So, what have you learned?"   
  
Blackfire smiled faintly. "I should've never have done what I've done. I was angry at my sister, jealous. I was always tossed aside as a misfit, and because she had friends and I didn't."  
  
Raven snorted slightly. "I don't know if I can believe that you are clean now though."   
  
Blackfire turned to Raven with a look of anger. "I did my time! I served my punishment!"   
  
"That doesn't mean a thing. I know tons of people that served their time and are still going back because of their stupidity and want to commit crimes. Like, for example, the HIVE."   
  
Blackfire took a deep breath and took her blanket off of herself and began to dry her hair in frustration. "Can you lend me some dry clothes?"   
  
Raven turned slightly and pointed to the hallway. "Follow me. Be back in a few Robin." Robin nodded and walked back to the table and got back to busying himself with the work he was piled up in. 

-----

Raven led Blackfire to her room and opened the door. Leading the dark haired Tamaranian where she led no one before, she walked over and flipped on an unwanted light switch as to not creep out the black haired girl.

Raven opened up her closet door and pulled out a baggy black tee-shirt and a black pair of jeans. "Will this work until we get you some clothes of your own?"

Blackfire nodded. "Thank you." Raven closed the closet up and was about to push Blackfire out of her room when the ex-criminal spoke. "Is my sister here?"   
  
Raven paused. "No, she's downtown with the other two boys at the arcade."   
  
"Can I see her one last time before I go forever?"   
  
Raven raised an eyebrow. "You're leaving to your home planet forever?"   
  
Blackfire shook her head. "No, I'm leaving this whole place, forever."   
  
Raven took a step closer to her still confused. "I'm not reading you quite clearly, are you suggesting you may commit…"  
  
"Suicide? I may imply it one day…but not yet, not unless I can find an uninhabited planet with no one there so I can go crazy alone."   
  
Raven looked to the floor in thought. Blackfire was willing to say goodbye to her sister forever and leave so she could go insane without being near anyone, then was suggesting to kill herself if she couldn't. 

Blackfire tilted her head. "You trying to read me like a book? I'm not an easy genre. More like Shakespeare or Homer."

Raven looked up with a slight smile. "You into that stuff?"   
  
"I've read a couple during my time in the prison, actually helped me learn more about the things I take for granted…but it will be over soon enough."   
  
Raven rubbed her arm in thought. "You remind me of someone I know…"   
  
"Who may I ask?"   
  
Raven paused. "Myself…"   
  
It was Blackfire's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Why would you say that?"   
  
"I thought that I would find comfort being alone, away from people so I can go crazy that way…but it's not all Hollywood fun and games trying. It's not what you think. You need friends, someone to talk to…"   
  
Blackfire brushed a strand of stray hair out of her face. "I had to endure months of being away from people in prison…I had no one to talk to…"   
  
"There were people there. That's not technically alone."   
  
Blackfire rubbed her arm. "True."   
  
Raven sighed. "You know, let's talk a little about this while we're in here." She closed her door so they could talk in private in case if any ears were to wander in and hear them.   
  
Blackfire looked nervously at the door. "Um, what do you want to talk about?"   
  
"You."   
  
She turned to Raven and saw Raven pull out a chair for her to sit on. Taking it, she sat down and Raven sat across from her on the bed. "Tell me how you think you changed during your time locked away."   
  
Blackfire took the cloth of the shirt she was given and held it in her fingers. "I dunno how I think I changed…"   
  
"I can name a couple."   
  
Blackfire looked up and saw Raven looking at her peacefully.   
  
"You developed a patience for listening, you developed an emotion for caring about the others enough to want to be away so you don't hurt them…"   
  
"How can that be proved because of my time in jail?"   
  
Raven leaned back. "I don't know, you tell me."   
  
Blackfire bit her tongue.   
  
"Blackfire, if there is anything you want to say that you didn't feel comfortable telling anyone else, I'm ears."   
  
Blackfire's frown turned to a slight smile. "Since when did you become so caring?"   
  
"Hey, you're not the only one who's changed. People change, and if given credit, they can be friends or new enemies. Take your pick. I want to be your friend. Will you be my friend or my enemy?" 

Blackfire looked deep into Raven's deep purple eyes. "I want to be your friend cause you're being mine."

"Okay, tell me a little bit about how you feel sometimes. I feel at times frustrated. I know I'm not supposed to feel any emotions, but it slips at times. But, alas frustration is a big one in the emotion business."

Blackfire got up from her chair and walked over to Raven's window. Raven turned and watched Blackfire stare at the raindrops run down the slightly frosted glass. "I feel…anger…sadness…lonely, envy…"  
  
"All negative."  
  
Blackfire turned around and walked back to the chair. "Why are we even talking about this? I mean, who cares about how I feel?"  
  
"A friend does. I said I was your friend didn't I?"  
  
Blackfire stopped in her rant and nodded slowly. "Yes, I suppose…"  
  
"Okay, tell me about what you plan for your future."  
  
"Death."  
  
Raven narrowed her eyes. "Let me reword that…if you were an only child, and you were here on earth, and you had a clean record, what would your future plans would be?"  
  
Blackfire shrugged. "All lives end in death, so I just suppose I'd do what I am doing now…"  
  
"Talking with a grouch like me?"  
  
Blackfire smirked. "No, I'd probably be just getting out of prison or something…"  
  
Raven leaned forward. "Why would you be coming out of prison if you had no Starfire to be jealous of? No one to make you seem like a misfit?"  
  
Blackfire shrugged. "I don't know, I just feel that I probably would be doing that."

Raven leaned back again. "The point that I am trying to get across, Blackfire is actually not one, but several things: One, I am trying to prove that I want to listen to you and be your friend. Two, I want you to release your guilt and feelings so you can realize something…"  
  
"And that something would be…"  
  
"People can change. In fact you have for just taking this moment to talk to me, and to let out your thoughts, and feelings. And for being my friend. Would a criminal who wanted to go and die do that?"  
  
Blackfire paused. She had talked about wanting to die, but then was carried away by Raven's kindness in listening to her feelings and thoughts about things.   
  
Blackfire stood up and Raven got up as well. "You're right Raven. I have changed. I just didn't realize it."  
  
Raven opened the door and walked out with Blackfire. "And you're not the only one who has changed, we all have. And also, I was wrong about my first judgement. You have come clean."  
  
_**-The End-**_


End file.
